199X, the world went into a massive nuclear war. The devastation caused by this world placed the one we all knew into ruins. Nuclear wastes hung in the air, and the aftereffects from a nuclear bomb were severe. Whoever were sick from the radiation will soon see the end of their life, making them very weak, and it causes them to cough out blood.
The waste in the air subsided, however, it is still around the ruined world, but it wasn't enough to kill everyone it grasped. Many living things survived the nuclear war. Humans had survived.
But in the age where the devil laughs the loudest, the strong rules the weak. The wicked slaughtered the innocent, and take pleasure from it too. If nuclear arms doesn't take them out, then eventually they will take themselves down.
This is the age where hope was a myth, and fight for survival was an everyday thing. The girl in the red and white shrine maiden dress with purple hair walked throughout the wasted lands, and sent here without goals, she swore that these lands shall be tamed, and order shall return, even if it meant her own life, she will gladly sell it if it meant the innocent shall be protected from the wicked.
Few days ago...
A girl was walking through this unknown wasteland to her, the landscape was completely unrecognizable. For miles she walked, but she didn't find any living soul around... Which was unusual to her, seeing how souls were common back in her homeland. She tripped, being baked under the blazing sun, her flashback kicks in...
She was in Makai, and she was in a fight to the death kind of duel against Shinki. Never before she fought any youkais so powerful... So enduring... So hateful... The duel was a bloody stalemate for ours, and for being a human, this was a great achievement to fight against the goddess of Makai. Both were reaching to their exhaustion point... And Shinki wasn't showing her true powers until now. She grew wings, her attacks became much stronger... Fear struck into this red-white, realizing that this battle is now a lost cause. Reimu fought each duels with huge disadvantages, but none of them could compare the amount this fight had... Her body gave out eventually, taking many blows from Shinki, both physical and spiritually.
As the goddess was about to end her life, a gap appeared right under Reimu, in the gap being eyes, tons of them staring without blinking. Reimu went out cold as she continuously fell... The battle had left Reimu spiritually and physically weak.
Loud motors were heard from the distance, and seconds later she were surrounded by males riding a two-wheeled device, skins darkened presumably from being under the sun. Surely they weren't here to invite her on a tea party... These men looked like they would have fun tormenting people.
One of the men tossed a lasso at her, not with rope but with steel chains. Reimu quickly jumped out of her way. From next to her feet, a yin-yang orb slowly formed, it being red-and-white instead of it's usual black and white... It grew to be bigger than a soccer ball, and with one swift kick to this orb ot was sent to the men that tried to chain her. The man was knocked off of his bike, and for the bike he had... It became nothing more than just a fiery pile of trash. The orb returned to her from the sky, and one of the riders was charging up from behind her with a combat knife.
Reimu jumped, and made a back flip, just barely dodging the knife that would have pierced her back, and kicked the orb during this movement, taking out another rider. The orb then rolls slowly to Reimu, she placed her feet on it, turning around to see the rider she had dodged. With speed she thought was unimaginable to get, the rider charged at Reimu, no signs of fear of the orb that trashed two bikes, or care about his two friends.
Reimu takes a couple steps back, then kicked the orb with all of her strength, it flew into the front of the bike. The impact had the man flying out of it, and flew over the red-white, and this bike was also a victimized.
Looking around... She had only counted three riders... She thought that there would have been a lot more of them from how loud the engines were. The orb then slowly shrunk, going out of existence. The three men that attacked her were all alive, however all were out cold.
Reimu began to walk again, her thoughts slowly became one word altogether... "Water..." She spoked, her throat so dried it felt so sticky...
Reimu never stopped to rest, it had been so long without food or water that she knew she'd die without either for any longer. The hot sun roasting the girl, vision blurred from being so tired, dizziness so strong she keeps swaying around. Her persistence kept her from falling down, for if she falls down right here and now, she felt she might never get back up.
Minutes felt no different than the long, painful hours from being under the sun. Those minutes then became hours... The red-white, who was so weak that would die from exhaustion at any moment, kept walking...
She came into a town which looked abandoned. Everything she saw was in ruined, so she thought that she were the only one here now... She saw a well in the distance. Her heart beats quicker, her slow walk turned into a sprint, she did not want to wait any longer to drink water. She pulls the rope, the bucket filled with water rising. Then suddenly her were surrounded. "Stop!" One of the man shouted. Unlike the man before, his skin was lighter, and he wore more clothes.
Reimu ignored the man, kept on pulling the ropes till the bucket was within her reach. She reach down into the well to grab it, then suddenly from behind she was pinned down. "Water..!" She shouted, not saying any more or less. She was so closed to drinking water, so close to end this exhaustion..! More people came out, seeing what the commotion was all about. "What the hell is going on?" One of the men shouted.
"This girl tried to steal our precious water!" The man that had her pinned shouted. She didn't pay any attention to their conversation, all she cares about is the water was so close to her, yet she couldn't reach. "Water...!" She dryly shouts again. Then she was lifted, being taken away. The girl tried to break free, the water growing more distant...
She was forced into a jail cell, locked in. As soon as she was locked in, she grabbed his wrist through the bar. "Water..!" She tried to shout, but only came out as a whisper. The man yanked his wrist free, and he walks away. She slowly slides down to the floor, even though she pleaded for water, the cruel man locked her away in a cell. Days since she had saw one drop of water, and she finally found a well full of it, but she couldn't take a single sip. The girl softly sobbed.
"Why bother with water?" A boy in the cell asked her, "they're going to kill us anyway." The girl paid no mind to this boy. She didn't realize that she had a roommate until he spoke up. Reimu continued to sob quietly in this cell.
A little girl came up to the cell, wearing pink one-piece clothing, which was sleeveless and the skirt goes down to her knees. She gently nudged Reimu, holding out a cup to her. Reimu looks at the girl's face closely, and mouthed "thank you," as she reached out for the cup. Suddenly a pair of arms came out to grab the girl's wrist, pulling her closer to the bars. "Quickly, grab the keys!" The boy shouted. Reimu, looking down on the floor, is now filled with anger. When the boy grabbed her violently, she dropped the cup of water.
Reimu stared at the boy with so hatefully. She slowly grabs the boy's wrist. "I said get the keys!" He shouted at her. Her response was a swift kick to the back of his head, breaking his grip on the little girl, and the girl pulls back quickly. The boy held his head in pain. "What the hell was that floor?!" He shouted. Reimu eyes the girl, mouthing "another cup..?" With eyes pleading to her. The girl then quickly runs out.
"Good job, now we lost our only chance to leave!" He shouted, laying down at the other side of the cell, as Reimu waited quietly for the girl, hopeful that she would return.
And she did, holding a tray with a cup of water, but not only that, but there was also a piece of bread on the tray as well. The boy looked at the girl, then whispers "The girl likes you."
The girl sat the tray down in front of the cell. Reimu extends her arm to the cup, and slowly brings it to her mouth. She drank every drop of water in that cup, as if it were the best drink she had in the whole world. The boy grabbed the bread and just wolfed down on it.
"Thank you for the food..." Reimu told the girl. She fluttered a bit from the gratitude Reimu had shown her, her cheeks red. "I am Hakurei Reimu..." Reimu told the girl, "what is yours..?" The girl was troubled by that answer.
"Her name's Rin." The boy rudely butted in. "Forget about chatting with her, she can't speak at all. She saw her family being slaughtered by bandits up close, after all!" The girl face's changed suddenly, and she began to cry. "H-Hey, don't cry...!" He said, now regretting about what he mentioned. Reimu then slowly hugs Rin, extending her arms as much as she could out of the cell. "It's alright..." Reimu whispered, trying to cheer the girl up. "Do you want to speak again..?" The girl gently nods. Reimu lets the girl free from her hug, and she went into a corner, she pulled out a piece of her hair, and went to work on a small project intently, using what supplies she had left on her... Then returns to Rin. Reimu held out a charm you'd get from shrines in Japan. "Keep this with you at all times." Reimu instructed Rin, as she accepts the gift with two hands. "If you wish for something hard enough, it will be granted." The boy rolls his eyes, and the girl made a string for the charm, wearing it as a necklace, and placed it in her dress. She smiled so warmly.
The man that manhandled Reimu had returned. "Hey," he spoke, his attention solely focused on Reimu. "The elder wants to speak to you." He opens the cell's gate. Reimu stood up, and walks out. "What does he want?" She asked as she walked away with him. The boy made no attempt to escape, which surprises Reimu. Rin quickly closes the gate and locks it up, so he won't either. Seems that she's already holding a grudge against him.
"Elder!" The man next to Reimu shouted. The old man, who seems to be the leader of this village, nods at his words. He seemed to be the leader of this village, as he is accompanied by several other men who could be called bodyguard. He looks at Reimu, "You... Don't look like you are from around this area... Are you foreign?"
Reimu replies to the old man, "I was born in the lands of old Japan, called Gensokyo... I have no idea where I am at now." The old man seems to be in thought. "You are from Japan..? Do you know what had happened to this land?" The girl shook her head. "How come you don't?"
"Gensokyo is separated from the world, it is protected by a barrier, only thing that can pass through it is a human.
"Why have I never heard of this land before..?" The old man asks.
"Because it is hidden."
The men were simply outraged by her outlandish responses. "Don't listen to this girl, elder. There can't be such a land!" One spoke up.
The old man was in deep thoughts. "Tell me... On your way here... Did you see anybody?" The girl nods. "How far away were they?"
"No idea." Again, the men made another fuss. The elder asks her, "why don't you know?"
"If you had nothing except for water running in your head, you don't pay attention to much details." The old man sighed, "did they have any special features...?"
Reimu looks down, trying to recall what the man looked like. "Only saw three. All were shirtless, had hairstyles so unique you'd think they are looking for attention..." Reimu then thinks again once more.
"Anything else...?"
"...All three men had ink on their body." The old man's eyes risen at this response. "And what was the ink..?"
"They all had the letter Z."
Everyone was in shock, including the elder. "Did they do anything to you..?"
"They attacked me." Reimu replied. The old man, afraid to know any more, asks her another question.
"And what happened."
Reimu opened her mouth, but suddenly motors could have been heard outside of the village. "I fought with the three of them, they all lost against me."
"So how about the keys..?" The boy asks Rin. She thought of the boy to be annoying, this whole time since Reimu was gone the boy was begging for keys like a stray dog begging for food. She wanted to tell him shut up, but no matter how hard she tried she did not let a word out. Rin wished to speak with her might, but to no improvement what so ever. As she thought, this charm was useless. But she will treasure it, because Reimu was the only person that shown gratitude to her, and felt more love than she experienced after her parents had died.
She heard the distant motors outside of the village in the distance, the man who brought Reimu out came back in, dragging Reimu by her wrist. "Let me go! I'll walk myself." Reimu told the man harshly, pulling free from his grip. The man ordered her back into the cell, and Reimu obeyed without any complaints. "Can you at least tell me what's going on?"
He ignored her, and he went to Rin. "We have to move now Rin. Zeed is attacking the village!" Upon hearing this, Rin's heart dropped. The bandits who had killed her parents were under Zeed's command... They're all ruthless, they kill just for fun. And they'll kill anyone that opposes them.
The man quickly runs with a homemade spear in his hand, running to the exit. "What are you waiting for?! Get into position!" And after that he felt the jailhouse. Rin looks back to the cell. "What's going on Rin?!" Reimu questioned her. Rin wanted to explain to her so much, but no matter what, her muted mouth will not utter a single word. Instead, she tossed the keys at the cell, grabbing a spear adjusted to her size, then runs out.
When bandits attack the village, her role is to be the frontal defense, or the first line of defense. The men here are such cowards, that they would rather have a child to fight in the front lines instead of themselves.
However, against Zeed, they all will die, and the girl knew this. Everyone did. However, they want to protect everything they loved, even if it meant walking to their own graves. Only one that didn't have the courage and the will to fight was Rin. She was only a child of an age at 8 years old, and she obviously had no fighting experience what so ever. She is also very timid. She had never attacked another person before, protect herself when she was attacked, and most of all, she had never wound anyone. The thought of that made her sick... Why must everyone fight? We're all humans... But why must we fight among ourselves..?
Everyone was in their places, the archers hiding on rooftops, and the spearmen was at the entrance, and behind them was people building up a wall to slow Zeed's attack. Rin cries, she knew that she is going to die. "If everyone were to fight in this fight," she thought to herself, "then at least let Reimu live! Please god... Spare Reimu at least..."
The men had finally arrived. They all were charging head-on with only gameplan they had was fight with strong numbers, and brute strength. They cared about nothing else. Zeed, the leader of this group of bandits, was seen also charging in with the bandits. Rin, mustering all of her courage, stayed at where she was position.
"Everyone of them are scary..." Rin thought, asking again, "why must we fight..?"
Finally, when the bandits were close enough, the archers got up, readying the bows. "Aim!" The commander had shouted, pulling the arrows back. "Fire!" And the arrows went loose through the air, a barrage of arrows flying toward the bandits, everyone of them pierced something. Some through the torso, the legs, knees, eyes. A lot of them dropped from the first wave of arrows, none hit Zeed however.
"Ready!" And the men readies their bow once again, aiming at the bandits. "Fire!" And the second wave of arrows soar. The results were about same, but the bandits did not slow down at all. They still had a large number coming towards them.
They are now within range for a physical brawl now, the bandits charged at them head on with brutish resolve, while the spearmen charged at them with courage. Rin was slowly behind however, becoming weak in the knees. She wanted to run away so badly, but to ensure that Reimu runs away, she stayed in order to buy her some time.
Even though bandits lost a lot of numbers, they quickly slaughtered the spearmen, and they climbed onto the rooftops, killing all of the archers as well. Zeed slowly walks to the just-now finished wall, blocking their way in.
Rin was the only one left. She had felt so much terror, but she still hasn't abandoned her post. Right next to her was one of the men that had died, and on his waist was a knife. She unsheathes it, the knife looked like it was never used before. Zeed was walking closer to the wall, ignoring the little girl because he thought of her to be no threat at all.
"That one is the leader..!" Rin thought, and she knew she was right. Zeed was the biggest, strongest, and the cruelest of the whole group. "If he dies..." She told herself, "then the fighting will stop..!"
Zeed was only a couple of steps away to the wall. Then a knife stabbed through his thigh. He looks behind, only to see that it wasn't any surviving militia men, but instead Rin, holding the knife that stabbed his thigh. He was obviously enraged, punching Rin. Once she had fallen down, Zeed kicked her so hard she flew into the wall, and due to it being so fragile, it broke without any trouble.
Rin coughed out blood, she was in so much pain. Even though she, for the first time, had stabbed a person, she wasn't able to kill him. "Don't give up now...!" She thought. "Gotta... Keep going...!" The. She was lifted in air, being held by the collar of her pink shirt.
"Nobody move, or this girl will get it!" Zeed roared clearly, frightening everyone. "Reimu... At least survive...!" Rin thought, looking at everyone. She quickly turned pale, her eyes were filled with despair. Reimu hadn't ran away at all, nor she didn't intend to run
"No..! Reimu... Run away!" She wanted to shout out, but her voice still remained mute. Reimu was walking through the villagers, "Don't Reimu! Don't get any closer!" She tried to shout once again, but once again no sound came out. Reimu slowly approaches Zeed...
"Reimu! Don't come any closer! Run away!"
